If DMGT were to buy the i, it would have a total circulation reach of nearly 4m, including 1.4m free daily Metro copies.

In a statement on its potential bid for the i, a DMGT spokesperson said: “We review all publishing assets that come to market, especially those where we can potentially leverage the scale of our existing national and international media operations.”

Press Gazette understands DMGT would not be interested in acquiring JP as a whole, which has more than 200 regional titles, and that it is seen as a good fit alongside the titles already owned by the group.

Reports of the DMGT bid come as a Sunday Telegraph report revealed that JP directors have put restructuring firm Alix Partners in place in case the publisher enters insolvency.

Johnston Press has declined to comment on the potential DMGT bid, but in a spokesperson did comment on the insolvency back-up plan.

They said: “The formal sale process is still ongoing. Nothing has changed since we announced that process to the Stock Exchange on October 11.”